IND v SA | Rain plays spoilsport as Dharamshala T20I washed out

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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The first T20I of the three-match series between India and South Africa has been abandoned due to rain in Dharamsala. The rain which has persisted for the last two days made it impossible for even the toss to take place and forced the officials to call off the match at around 19:50 IST.

Apart from the rain gods offering a glimmer of hope when it was only drizzling around 18:30 IST, it was inevitable that today's match would be cancelled. 

For South Africa, this was to be the start of a new era, particularly on the back of a disappointing World Cup campaign. Four years on from their previous tour of India which got underway with a 200-run T20 chase, South Africa returned to the site of that triumph – Dharamshala – a completely revamped outfit. Three of their stalwarts from the previous generation – AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn – are no longer around, and Test and ODI captain Faf du Plessis isn’t in charge of the T20I team.

On the other hand, it is not as if the hosts, India, have cracked the T20 code altogether. Unlike their excellence in the longer formats of the game, India is yet to stamp their authority in T20s since their World Cup triumph way back in 2007. With the next edition set to take place next year in Australia, head coach Ravi Shastri had called for further involvement of fresh youngsters in the line-up. So, in essence, this is the start of India’s 17-match preparation ahead of the event Down Under.

However, both teams will return home today without getting a glimpse of how their plans on paper would have transpired on to the pitch. The second of the three T20Is is scheduled to take place at the PCA stadium on Wednesday.

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